Authors' objectives:

This report summarises the methods used for developing the NHS Economic Evaluation Database, the progress made so far, the ways of accessing and searching the database, and the plans for extending activities linked to the project. This report updates the 1st edition, published in 1996.

Authors' recommendations: The NHS Economic Evaluation Database (NHS EED) contains structured abstracts of economic evaluations of health technologies in all languages published from 1994 onwards (selected studies are available for 1992 and 1993). Papers are abstracted if they are full economic evaluations of health technologies, relevant to the NHS. A detailed abstract structure has been developed, to assist in the critical appraisal of each study and to ensure that the information is of maximum use to the intended audience of UK health care professionals, managers, policy makers, and academics. 116 selected records originally included in the DH Register of Cost-Effectiveness Studies (1994), and which have been mapped into the CRD abstract structure, are also included in the database. Bibliographic details of costing studies, methodological papers and reviews of economic evaluations are also included in NHS EED. In order to enhance the visibility of those papers which have been selected for abstract, but for which abstracts have not yet been written, bibliographic details of those papers are also included in NHS EED as "provisional abstracts". The NHS Economic Evaluation Database is a companion to the CRD Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE), which is a collection of abstracts of good quality research reviews about the effectiveness of health care interventions and the organisation of health services. Both databases are accessible free of charge on the World Wide Web. Although the NHS Economic Evaluation Database is potentially a useful resource, it is only the start of a process of improving access to reports of economic evaluations and promoting the use of reliable results in health care decision making. We have identified key activities relevant to the effective implementation of the project, which can be classified in three broad categories: a) marketing and dissemination of NHS EED; b) assessing the use and usefulness of NHS EED; c) research activities on the methods and quality of economic evaluations.

Authors' methods: Summary

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/pdf/nhseed-handb07.pdf

Year Published: 2001

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England

Organisation Name: University of York

Contact Address: University of York, York, Y01 5DD, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1904 321040, Fax: +44 1904 321041,

Contact Name: crd@york.ac.uk

Contact Email: crd@york.ac.uk

Copyright: Centre for Reviews and Dissemination